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March 11, 2004updated 22 Nov 2022 1:33pm

Adrian Wells

By Press Gazette

26.02.04

At 7.10am on Thursday morning Clare Short ruins my shower. Even post-Hutton, the Today programme is required listening as the day starts.

Short’s revelation to John Humphrys that Britain had in some way spied on Kofi Annan’s office in New York was clearly big news.

Rushing more quickly to work, it was clear that the story would build throughout the day. How could Sky’s foreign news department contribute to the coverage? I decide to wake our US correspondent Ian Woods in the middle of the night and get him and a team to New York. Clearly there is real annoyance at the UN (or as the diplomats say “disappointment”) over the activities.

Disappointment, too, in Ian’s house but partners and loved ones get used to London calling and disrupting lives.

Andrew Wilson, our other US correspondent, has just landed in Haiti. The BBC had deployed to the divided Caribbean country much earlier but we were not sure it was going to develop into a “proper” war. We are still in doubt, but if President JeanBertrand Aristide did go, and if the rebels reached the capital, we had to be there.

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27.02.04

It looks like we got Haiti right. The rebels are on the move and the tension in Port-au-Prince is building. There is a game of chicken in the Sky newsroom about deploying to stories: go too early and accountants twitch at the cost; go too late and you risk missing the story.

With airlines now cancelling flights into the country, I am relieved we slipped in under the wire.

29.02.04

We love the Oscars and tonight is the night. We have a big team in Los Angeles headed up by news editor Sally Arthy.

Apart from the Haram al-Sharif (Dome on the Rock) in Jerusalem, that stretch of red carpet in Hollywood is the most contested piece of land in the world for one glamour-filled night as camera teams jockey for position. Our correspondents Matt Smith and Georgie Arnold are on the air and will be throughout the night and next day.

It is a marathon piece of broadcasting and there is always the danger of missing a key star, dress or tearful acceptance speech.

01.03.04

The Oscars go well. The stars, including Sir Ian McKellen, speak to us from the Vanity Fair party as The Lord of the Rings sweeps the board.

Today is the first day of our Eye Across Russia series. Moscow correspondent Laurence Lee is travelling from Vladivostock back to the capital in seven days, crossing seven time zones on the way.

It is cold out there and Laurence has bought a big brown coat with some pelt of dead animal around the hood.

Apparently, it keeps him warm during his two-way interviews but there is a danger he looks like Kenny from South Park.

02.03.04

More blasts rip through crowds of Shia worshippers gathering in Karbala and Baghdad. Our foreign affairs editor, Tim Marshall, monitors the pictures as they flood in from the scene. Extra care is taken as some of the images are too strong to broadcast. Commentators fear the chances of religious civil war in Iraq have been increased.

03.03.04

International troops have now been in Haiti for two days. The rebel leaders are greeted as heroes in most parts of Port-au-Prince. It’s time to leave, but a small aircraft charter to the Dominican Republic is the only way out. Our guys have to overnight in a holiday resort before catching a flight to Miami.

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

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